Technologies for navigation, labor, and recreation in water are constantly evolving to address the many challenges and opportunities aquatic environments present. At every level of travel in and on water, designers and engineers strive to improve speed, energy efficiency, maneuverability, safety, and control. Ships must transport maximal quantities of goods with minimal energy expenditures, while resisting the deleterious effects of storms and rogue waves. At the other extreme, surfboards have been subjected to centuries of modification, material experimentation, and artistic skill to strike a similar balance between speed, handling, maneuverability, and durability. At the extremes of performance, watercraft and water recreation products maximize desirable traits at the expense of other crucial attributes, often leading to critical failures when faced with unexpected events; thus, hulls built for great speed may require great expertise to handle, and may shatter upon collision, while hulls built for great durability may be cumbersome and slow, driving up fuel costs and ironically endangering occupants in inclement weather. This leaves designers with the unenviable choice of choosing the shortcomings of their designs for the benefit of the advantages, and leaves those who seek employment or recreation on the water to choose between various flawed options.